In the days before Hillsborough brought grief to Liverpool, rules about – and standards of – stadium safety had remained hardly changed since the days of Roy of The Rovers. But from the 1990s onwards, things drastically changed in football. In the wake of the Taylor Report, all sorts of rules were proposed. And although the report didn’t directly say that standing was a problem, the government at the time took the decision to phase out standing in Tiers 1 and 2 (today’s Premier League and Championship).

Crush barriers and cages that kept fans within pens, some of which were installed as anti-hooliganism devices in the Seventies and Eighties, were also banned; and alcohol sales were restricted, too. So many clubs upgraded stadia, while many more – Arsenal, Derby, Reading, Man City, for example – built new grounds compliant with the new rules. But could standing now be coming back at British football matches?

In a sense it never went away: at grounds up and down the country, every Saturday, fans stand – but mostly that’s in contravention of the regulations. Now, there seems to be a movement building to get to where one can stand without breaking the rules. But will standing shoot football back to the bad old days of crushes and scrapping – or can it be managed in new, safer ways?

Grimsby Town is one of the clubs that think it can. “We’ve put a suggestion out there in response to what the supporters wanted. The biggest thing that came back from a survey we did was that they wanted some form of standing,” says Nick Dale, who manages Grimsby’s Blundell Park ground. “It happens unofficially the length and breadth of the country – clubs are forced to contravene their licences – but if all the fans stand up, it’s safer to allow it to continue. You have analyse the risk factor and manage it.”

They were unlucky at Grimsby. When the rules were changed they were in English football’s second tier (now the Championship). Since then, the club has had a bad run and ended up in the fifth tier (now the Conference). But if they got promoted to the fourth tier (League Two), they’d still have to abide by the rules that say first and second tier clubs must have all-seating grounds, because Grimsby spent more than three years in that second tier. Confused? So are the fans. Other clubs in Leagues One and Two have standing areas, and Morecambe has built a stadium with a big standing zone.

So, Grimsby would need a rule change for fans to stand. But they’re not even considering standing areas per se, so much as “rail seats”, which German clubs such as Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund use. These hybrids can be sat on during Champions League or Europa League games – as Uefa demands all-seated matches in these competitions – or folded up to create standing spots during domestic Bundesliga matches. “For Grimsby, we could go back to a version of standing. We originally looked at the rail seat – a rail per row. You put thought in about how to install them, and they’re very effective and very safe,” reckons Dale.

However, the Hillsborough Families Support Group has come out against standing and wants all-seated stadiums to stay. In the light of that, says Dale, “we have to be very sensitive”. And Michael Brunskill, of the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF), agrees. But he adds that, even in Liverpool, “a lot of fans acknowledge there’s a place for standing”.

Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

Premier League 2014/15 memorable moments

1/12
Comical tackle of the season

Phil Jones’ commitment has never been in question – but he really went the extra mile in May’s Premier League clash against Arsenal. Having slipped with Olivier Giroud on his shoulder, the defender managed to nod a header away – despite lying flat on the ground. Former Gunners defender Martin Keown labelled him as a “comical stuntman” – and it’s hard to disagree on this showing.

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2/12
Unluckiest player of the season

In the opening match of the season, Ashley Young may have seen Ki Sung-Yeung’s goal and thought it was going to be a bad day – but little did he know, it was about to get a whole lot worse for him. Whilst berating team-mates for their defending, videos appear to show bird excrement falling from the sky and straight into the midfielder’s mouth – something he still denies, of course.

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3/12
Best free-kick

“It was a boring game and I livened it up. My mates think I’m a legend” – the words of Jordan Dunn, the pitch invader who ran on to take a free-kick in August’s match between West Ham and Spurs. His effort was arguably better than many seen on the pitch that day, but Dunn was subsequently fined £305 for his moment of madness.

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4/12
Best worst celebration

Charlie Adam’s reaction to scoring one of the goals of the season? A not-so-great robot celebration – which led team-mate Peter Crouch to judge it as “horribly wrong”. Adam had just scored from his own half against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, but many will remember the goal for other reasons.

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5/12
Worst attempt at a head-butt

An addition to the historic list of on-field battles between Manchester United and Arsenal, Gunners midfielder Jack Wilshere took umbrage with opponent Marouane Fellaini – and appeared to head-butt the Belgian. Wilshere’s nine inch height disadvantage meant that his strike failed to meet its target, however, probably helping him to avoid an FA ban.

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6/12
Strangest complaint

Match officials will carry out a number of checks before every match – ensuring twenty-two are on the field of play, checking there are no holes in the nets and so on – but in October, before Leicester’s match at Swansea, the away team’s goalkeepers became convinced that the crossbar was too high and complained to the officials. Checks were made – and the goals were found to be the correct height.

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7/12
Biggest loser at mind games

After West Ham’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United in February, Hammers chief Sam Allardyce accused his opponents of purely playing long-ball football – much to the Dutchman’s anger. Instead of brushing the comments off, Van Gaal produced a document to suggest it was actually Allardyce’s men who lumped the ball forward more often. Big Sam’s efforts to get under the skin of his counterpart had worked.

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8/12
The Alan Pardew award for bonkers behaviour from a manager

In February, the pressure was starting to mount on Leicester boss Nigel Pearson – and things threatened to come to a head during his side’s 1-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace. Eagles midfielder James McArthur had collided with the hot-headed manager on the touchline, and instead of helping him to his feet, Pearson appeared to strangle the 27-year-old. He subsequently escaped punishment by the FA.

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9/12
Most topical celebration

On the day of Manchester United’s victory over Spurs in March, a video emerged showing the United Wayne Rooney skipper being knocked to the ground in a boxing match in his own home by ex-team-mate Phil Bardsley. He went on to celebrate his goal in the 3-0 win with a celebration imitating his own knock-out.

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10/12
Weirdest press conference/best name calling

Nigel Pearson has always been a manager who will back his players – even if it means ostracising himself from the media. A journalist had asked Pearson to explain his comments that his side had faced a high level of criticism and negativity, and instead of giving a reasoned answer, Pearson labelled the reporter as an “ostrich” and said his “head must be in the sand”.

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11/12
The delusional boaster award

Step aside Jose Mourinho – you’re not the best coach in the Premier League, according to Newcastle boss John Carver. His suggestion for the mantle? Himself. Speaking recently, on the back of eight straight defeats, Toon boss Carver made the bold statement – perhaps to deflect attention onto himself and away from his struggling squad.

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12/12
Playground moment

Cesc Fabregas has always been able to pick a pass – and showed this more than ever in May’s away trip to West Brom. During a break in play, the Spaniard’s 20-yard punt hit opponent Chris Brunt on the head whilst referee Mike Jones was dealing with another incident. Jones saw Fabregas’ strike and showed him a straight red card – but his three-match ban has since been reduced to just one, after Chelsea successfully argued the initial punishment was excessive.

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Surveys done by the FSF have shown that nine out of 10 fans are in favour of standing. Why? “Atmosphere’s the main reason,” says Brunskill. “If you’re in church, you stand up to sing a hymn. It generates spectacle. Standing areas could possibly help to reduce prices, too – traditionally they’re cheaper than seating areas.” And on top of that, “You can stand at a football ground to see a pop concert but during a football game you can’t.” Nor is the heat on this issue only generated by fans. Premier League clubs such as Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Burnley all support safe standing – and it’s likely they’d be among the first to introduce it if the law was amended.

Meanwhile, Wales seems to be taking the biggest steps towards approving standing at games. Cardiff is in the English second tier (Championship) but tolerates standing in one section of its terraces. Members in the country’s devolved Welsh Assembly have also put their weight behind a trial. So we might soon see the return of legal standing at football matches. And some supporters would consider that a great final result.